^ You can thank former CTA President Paaswell for killing our unique Mercury Green, Croyden Cream, and Swamp Holley Orange color scheme, favoring the blah red, white, and blue of every other transit agency. How awesome was all the old CTA signage, in Futura fonts with the green and cream color schemes?
I think the lack of creative industrial design is indicative of a wider societal problem, a loss of the confidence and pride that we had back in the "good old days". Hence we wind up with the insultingly wretched olde tyme infill all over the city's northside rather than trying anything forward-looking. It's just not transport, such ways of thinking are all over the place, and of course the current climate against funding government means transit agencies do need to be budget conscious, so flashy design is one of the first things thrown out to save costs. The only way they're getting away with the Calatrava train station in NY is because the federal taxpayers are paying for it as part of the rubber stamp "reconstruction" efforts we like to do after major disasters (Katrina, etc.)
Personally, I like the exterior aesthetic of the 3200s, and think the ribbed stainless steel has an almost timeless elegance to it (witness the 2200s on the blue/pink lines, now 35 years old), so I don't mind if these look pretty similar.
Last edited by VivaLFuego; Jul 28, 2006 at 4:53 PM.
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